New Love
by bookaddict09
Summary: A Jeremy and Anna story. Anna finds out why Jeremy really wanted to be changed and she runs away upset. Later that night, Jeremy saves Anna from an unfortunate event and a series of events unfold, drawing Anna and Jeremy closer.
1. Hurt

I should have known it, I should have known there was some underlying reason for his sudden demand from me, thought Anna. She had left as soon as the words out of Jeremy's mouth confirmed her thoughts. And as she ran back to the house where the hoard of vampires were secretly waiting for their turn to massacre the town, there were feelings that were coursing through her mind, which she couldn't find anything to relate to.

Maybe it was regret, regret for giving in and agreeing to turn Jeremy in the first place. Or maybe it was spite and anger and the need to punish him for what he had done to her. But under that, there was something else, something close to pain and it was her own fault, she thought. Her own fault for getting involved with humans. From now on, she would stay with her kind and excel in her nature. She would be what she now realised she had almost forgotten she was, a vampire, a hunter, and she knew what she was going to do now, she changed direction and headed back into town.

The night was black as Anna moved amongst the shadows, keeping to the darkness that now encased her mind. There was nothing else that she was thinking of but blood and murder. Remembering that her mother was socialising with the mayor of Mystic Falls at the Grill, she headed towards the town's main street, knowing that there was where she would find a concentrated amount of people.

Once at the street, she sat on one of the many benches which lined the pavements and discreetly looked out for any human that appeared alone. With each person that passed, she felt the burning sensation grow from her jaw, the sign which said she was thirsty, and in full hunter mode. Nobody looked at her as they passed, and their step hastened past the bench which she was sat on. Her face looked like death, she knew it.

It wasn't long before she spotted a person on their own. A male, she preferred that. Once the male had passed her, she looked briefly around to make sure that no one was looking, before standing up to slowly follow her prey. She kept to the shadows again, keeping her distance as the man walked down several streets.

Anna waited, she didn't want to attack with people to witness her, because she would have to kill them too, and though her mind was black and overcome with madness, there was part of her that couldn't be bothered to make such an effort. It would cause too much trouble, and Jeremy wasn't worth it.

As the man continued his innocent journey through the night, Anna became more impatient. With every step the man took into a street with people walking, she growled. She could feel the sharp point of her fangs now, though she knew from whatever saneness that was left of her, that her face had not yet morphed, it was just her expression which chased everyone away.

Soon though, her prey began to slow, and there was something about this hunt, the way it seemed to prolong, made it more like a game. She remembered she liked to play games with her prey. She knew now that he was near his destination, and, after the next street, the man turned into a small alley way, and there Anna began her fun. She leapt into the air and landed ten inches in front of him, the man let out a scream but she silenced him with her hand. Then he turned to run. Pathetic human, she thought as she leapt into the air again and landed at the entrance to the alley way, blocking his escape. She saw his face, his wide open eyes full of fear. He started to back up the alley way, his arms out in front of him in a pathetic attempt to protect himself. Anna smiled. A fool, she thought, then she started to step slowly towards him, just like Jeremy. Anna couldn't play any longer, she pounced and pushed the man to the ground. Then she felt her face transform and she once again stopped his screaming, but this time by biting viciously into his neck.

Anna thought that once the taste of hot blood was in her mouth she would calm down, she thought she would feel the same sense of relief when the blood acquainted her thirst, but it didn't. It didn't relieve the pain at all, it only made her more mad. She drank until the man was dry then threw his body off her in disgust. Apparently then, it would take time for the hurt to go away but Anna didn't think about that for long. There was a burning pain in her system, a burning that was associated with one thing only. Vervain, Anna thought as she dropped to the ground. Her mind started to completely cloud over, blocking all senses. She had forgot in her madness, that most of the town was equipped with vervain, and now she was going to die. In the distance of her mind, she heard her phone ring. She felt weak but slowly put the phone to her ear.

"Anna? Anna?" Was Jeremy's voice at the end of the phone.

There was no other hope, Anna thought, otherwise she was going to die.

"Jeremy," a whisper was all that Anna could manage. "Help me."

"Anna," Jeremy's voice was full of shock. "Where are you?"

"I don't know, a street." She tried to look back in her mind, to think of a significant object, but she was too immersed in her hunt at the time. She looked around her and saw a sign above her head. "Street View Alley," she whispered down the receiver. Then her last bit of life left her and there was nothing she could do but wait.


	2. safe

Jeremy quickly got up from his bed and sneaked quietly down the stairs. There, he was careful not to make any noise. He saw his aunt in the living room watching the television. He took his chance to run to the door, then silently opened it, before closing it as quietly as possible. Once outside he decided that the quickest way to get to Anna would be to use the car.

As he rushed to his aunt's car, there was a kind of desperation in Jeremy for him to save Anna. He felt he had to save her, because if she died it would be his fault, but more that, despite everything that he felt for Vicky, there was something that he hadn't had a chance to say to Anna before she left, that there was another reason why he wanted to be turned, that he still wanted to be turned despite Vicky's death. He had said it so many times before that he liked her. But was he denying his feelings all along, clouded by the memory of Vicky? Did he love her after all? He knew he would find out once he saw her.

He started the car and was off the drive in a matter of seconds, quick enough so his aunt wouldn't catch him, and headed in the direction of town. Once in town, he pulled up at the side of the road and reached for his phone. Scrolling in the menu, he saw the 'mapper' button and pressed it. He typed in the name of the Alley and impatiently waited for his phone to load up the map which would show him where Anna was.

Bit by bit the phone loaded and he saw that the Alley was not many streets away from the town centre. Jeremy drove as quick as he could through the streets and was glad that there wasn't a lot of traffic at night. As he got nearer to wear Anna would be, he became more and more anxious and he wondered how Anna could have gotten herself into trouble. It didn't even occur to him that it could have been a trap. Minutes ago he was at his house and now he was on the road where the Alley was situated. Something in him warned him that he should park the car a little way off the Alley, he didn't want to look suspicious. He pulled up at the edge of the curb, cut the engine and got out of the car.

The street was eerily silent as he ran and incredibly dark. He wondered what Anna was doing here, then decided that he didn't want to know. Suddenly, he wondered what he would see in the Alley, and a prickly feeling came over him. He admitted to himself that he was feeling scared. And with every step that he took, that increased, until he froze at the corner of the Alley.

He stood, catching his breath, building up the confidence to face what was down the Alley, then slowly, he turned.

Looking down the Alley, Jeremy realised that he had stopped breathing. Anna lay splayed out on the concrete floor next to a bloodied corpse that Anna had obviously killed. Yet, what made Jeremy catch his breath wasn't the mangled neck of the man, it was the still, ghostliness of Anna, her long brown hair spread out behind her like a lion's mane. He ran quickly to Anna's side and shook her violently.

"Anna," he said. "Anna, wake up."

There was no response from her. Jeremy quickly looked at the entrance of the Alley and saw that there was no one to see what he was about to do.

He took Anna's limp body in his arms, struggling with her solid weight, and gently walked up the Alley so as to not move her. Once at the entrance, he looked around and saw the street was deserted. Keeping within the shadows of the buildings, Jeremy swiftly took Anna to his car, and placed her across the back seat. Then, he rushed into the driver's seat and sped away from the scene. Relief washed through him momentarily, he managed to get Anna, though that was quickly taken over by thoughts of was she okay?

Jeremy knew that he couldn't take Anna back to his house. Her face and her clothes were covered in blood, she looked almost as ravaged as the man that she had attacked. But Jeremy didn't think of that now, instead, he focused on finding a place which would be safe for Anna.

He drove right out of town, going way over the usual speed limit, until he came to a lane where he knew there was a disused cabin at the end of it. He pulled in there and parked in front of it. He then got out and checked the door; it was locked but he knew away round that. He took a stone from nearby and smashed it through the glass. He then put his arm inside and opened the door. He ran back to his car and dragged Anna from the back seat and carried her awkwardly to the cabin. Once inside, he placed her body on an old green sofa, then closed the door. It was pitch black inside, but before Jeremy could worry about light, he had to thoroughly check Anna. He made his way to her side and knelt down beside her. He took her wrist, wondering if Vampires had a pulse. There was one there anyway, but it felt weak.

"Anna," he tried again, and this time louder than he had done in the Alley.

She seemed to stir slightly, or was it just a trick of the darkness.

But in the pale light of the moon which shone through the window, he saw her eye lids move. Jeremy's eyes widened.

"Anna?"

Anna's lips barely moved.

"Blood," they whispered.

Jeremy knew what to do. He walked over to the door and picked up a piece of glass that he had smashed earlier. Tensing, he quickly sliced the glass over his wrist and dark, red blood immediately started to flow. Holding his wrist out, he went back over to Anna and pressed it hesitantly to her mouth. He was surprised to be relieved when he felt a sucking motion on his wrist.

As Anna took in more and more of his blood, he felt the sucking strengthen and knew that she was becoming stronger. Whilst she sucked on his wrist, Jeremy started to relax, he started to feel things that he hadn't felt before. A connection . Suddenly he wanted her to do this, he liked that he was giving her life. Loved it in fact.

Did that answer his question. Did he love her?

And from that, he concluded that he did. Even though she was covered in blood from her victim, he felt he understood the reasons why she did it, he recognised that she must have felt like all those times when Vicky denied him. But he shook his head to clear those thoughts. He didn't want to think of Vicky right now.


	3. feelings

Sometime during Jeremy's reverie, Anna started to gain enough strength to move. She could feel the flow of blood through her system again as Jeremy's blood washed the vervain infected blood out of her.

Her eyelids fluttered and she moved her mouth slightly on Jeremy's wrist. He noticed. Jeremy blinked, trying to clear his head and saw that Anna's eyes were now open.

"Anna," he said her name for what sounded like the hundredth time this night.

Anna blinked again and slowly she started to sit up, but Jeremy caught her, wrapping his arms around her.

"No, you need to stay still Anna. You're still weak."

But he didn't let her go, he just held her, and in time, she put her arms around him too. Then, she gently placed her head on his chest, and relaxed against his body.

Tears started to emerge from Anna's eyes as the cocktail of intense feelings started to flow out of her. Jeremy stroked her hair gently and thought that he would never see a Vampire this vulnerable again.

"It's okay, it's okay," he said, trying to calm her. There wasn't really anything else that he could say. He remained silent, letting her get it all out.

Finally, once the sky became tinted with orange in the east, Anna pulled back and looked at Jeremy, staring into his eyes.

"I'm done now." Her voice sounded unsteady. She continued to stare at him. After a while she continued. "Thank you, Jeremy, for saving me last night. I was stupid, acting like that, I guess I was hurt, I don't know, I don't know what I was feeling ."

Jeremy then knew what he was going to say.

"Anna," he paused. "Anna, I'm sorry for what I said to you last night. It was stupid. But there was something that I was going to tell you, something I was going to say before you disappeared. I know it's going to sound really strange and probably surprising, knowing that I've given you so many different signs since I first met you, I'm sorry for that. Anna, what I was going to say is that," he put his hand on her cheek, " I think I'm in love with you."

Anna then went as still as she had been during the night.

A couple of minutes later, her eyes narrowed, then she replied. Like Jeremy suspected, she sounded confused.

"You-you love me?" She stuttered.

Jeremy smiled. "Yes."

"Despite what I am. Despite what I _did _to that man."

"Yes."

Her breathing paused.

"You don't know what you're saying, Jeremy. I'm a vampire, I'm not good for..."

Jeremy silenced her, pressing his lips to hers. He could taste the rust and salt of his blood in her mouth, but he didn't care. He drew her closer again, and she started to respond.

His feelings for Anna now were irrational and he almost felt tired with the emotion of the night.

He deepened the kiss, and weaved his hands in her hair. He forgot that he was kissing a vampire.

Gently, while their lips were still moving together, he started to lay them down on the sofa. He laid down beside her and continued to kiss her softly for a minute. Then, he broke away.

"I suppose you're tired from last night," he whispered. " I won't ask you how you ended up like that last night, I think we should save that conversation for another day."

Anna smiled. "Thanks. And you too must be tired, after all, you've been up all night."

"You know what," Jeremy smiled, "I think I might rest here for a bit."

Anna smiled again and then began to close her eyes. "That sounds like a good idea," she mumbled.

Jeremy began to close his eyes too, starting to feel lethargic in his comfortableness.

He was on the verge of drifting off to sleep, and therefore, he wasn't sure whether he'd just imagined it but he thought he heard a very quiet "I love you too."

Then they both drifted off to sleep in each other's arms.

When Jeremy woke, he blinked at the glare of the sun though the windows. Suddenly, all at once, a deluge of memories flooded into his mind from last night and he looked across to see Anna sleeping peacefully beside him. She looked beautiful and soft, apart from the dry blood around her mouth. He lightly got off the sofa and went over to the old sink in the corner. It was rusty and he was pretty sure that no water could run from it now. However, when he turned the tap, although it was quite stiff, water emerged. He put his sleeve in the water, then noticed that his wrist had dry blood on it too. He quickly washed it off in the water. Then, with his wet sleeve, he walked back over to Anna's sleeping form and lightly dabbed the dry blood from around her mouth. She didn't wake.

He didn't know what to do then, though he knew that he couldn't leave her, so he decided to sit on the old wooden stool across the room and wait for her to wake up.

Finally, when she started to stir, he was across the room in an instant. The first word that came out of Anna's mouth when she woke was:

"Jeremy?"

"Right here Anna," Jeremy said as he knelt down beside her.

Anna took her hand and placed it on his cheek drawing him nearer, then kissed him softly, though Jeremy sensed there was something off in the way that she kissed him, it wasn't as deep as last night.

"Anna," he said, once he broke away. "What's wrong?"

She seemed hesitant to answer.

"I-I still think you're going to run away. You're going to realise what I am really, and then never want to see me again. And I'm scared that if you run away from me, I'll feel like I did last night. It was so horrible, I never want to feel that again."

"Anna, I will _never _run away from you. I love you. I realise that now."

"Do you?" There was still questioning and regret in her voice.

In Jeremy's mind, an idea began to form. He had never done it before, let alone with a vampire, but if he could just let Anna know that what he felt for her was a real and irrational, then maybe she would gain confidence in him.

He climbed onto the sofa beside her and stared into her eyes. Jeremy had never felt so nervous, yet eager to share this with Anna. What he was most scared of was whether she would accept this move.

"Anna, "he said, weaving his hands in her hair and pulling her face close to his. He kissed her passionately pressing against her, and Anna's hand wound around his back pressing him closer to her. Jeremy felt encouraged by this.

Jeremy then unwound his fingers from Anna's hair and slowly stroked down her neck as if she was a delicate angel, not a vampire ten times stronger than him, and took to unbuttoning her cardigan.

He felt Anna's lips pause on his, and his fingers immediately stopped what they were doing. Then Anna shocked him by swiftly taking off his t-shirt. He looked down at his bare chest, amazed. Though he wasn't distracted for long because Anna eagerly pressed her lips to his.

Jeremy got through the rest of her buttons easily, and it wasn't long before they were both down to their under wear. Jeremy couldn't believe how beautiful Anna was beneath the clothes too. He looked down completely dazed.

"You're beautiful, Anna," he whispered, weaving his hands in her hair again.

"Thank you," Anna replied simply.


	4. return

The feeling of being that close to another person was the best feeling Anna had had in her very long life. For hundreds of years she had been searching for something and all along it had been this. Acceptance, to be loved and not used.

As she and Jeremy lay across from each other, their chests heaving, she couldn't help feel a surge of love for him. The last thing she expected when she moved to Mystic Falls was to fall in love with Elena's little brother. But it had happened, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

"You've changed me, Jeremy. Well and truly."

Jeremy looked confused

"How?" he asked.

"Before I came here, I _was _a hunter. Everything I thought was tinged with red, with murder. But, being here with you, has taught me that being a Vampire isn't as different from being a human as I once thought. With my head clear, I can still feel human feelings, love," she looked down, smiling, embarrassed, "passion." Anna took in a deep breath. "I have a lot to be thankful for."

She then brought Jeremy's mouth down to hers again, and everything happened again.

Jeremy rolled on top of her again, feeling her breasts on his chest. Feeling her soft skin on every line of his. Feeling her hands on every inch of him.

It was impossible to feel this much love.

However, some when in the midst of their distractions, Jeremy heard his phone buzzing in the pocket of his jeans. Though he was tempted to ignore it, Anna pushed him, saying he'd better answer it.

Once he had rummaged around for a while, he found it.

"Hello," Elena's voice was frantic down the phone.

"Elena,"

"Jeremy, where the hell are you. Why haven't you been answering your phone."

"Calm down Elena, It's okay, I'm with Anna."

"Anna." Elena's reply was blunt.

"Elena?"

"Jeremy, everyone is going crazy. You suddenly leave in our Aunt's car, and no one hears a thing for the rest of the night. We thought you had killed yourself over Vicky."

"No, no I wouldn't do that."

"I suggest you come home Jeremy," Elena said coldly. "I'll see you in a minute."

The phone went silent.

Anna was now sat up on the sofa.

"I'm guessing we need to go back," she said.

"Yeah," Jeremy grimaced.

"Sorry,"

"What for?"

"I got you into trouble."

Jeremy smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh well, Elena's always going off with Stephen."

Anna just smiled quickly.

They both hurried to get dressed. Though they decided that they would hide Anna's jacket because everyone would be suspicious if she returned home with blood all over her.

They got in the car, and Jeremy drove them back towards town.

The events of the night and day felt just like one big blur and Jeremy wasn't entirely sure whether it had all happened. He would look over to Anna, looking out of the window, to remind him that, in fact, it had all happened. In between looking at Anna and thinking about everything that had happened between them, Jeremy prepared himself for when he arrived home.

His aunt and Elena would be mad, he was sure but he didn't care. He wasn't harmed. Why should he get into too much trouble? Then a thought occurred to him.

"What will your mother say?" he said, breaking the silence in the car.

"My mother can't know that I was with you last night,"

Confusion flickered on Jeremy's face.

"Why?"

Anna didn't want to answer.

"Because," she said finally, "my mother doesn't want me mixing with the Gilberts." She sighed, turning to look at him.

"Oh," Jeremy said. "Do you think," he paused, "she will like me more when you have turned me?"

Anna had completely forgotten about the start of the chain of the last events that had occurred in her life and the sudden switch back to the catalyst shocked her.

"Err, yes. I think so. She _should_ do."

"Are you glad that your mother came here, or did you prefer to be alone."

Anna smiled. "I preferred to be alone," she said in the end.

Jeremy turned to look out the windscreen, they were nearing the road where his house was now, and they both remained silent for the rest of the journey, preparing for the onslaught and explanations when they arrived.


	5. shock

Outside of Jeremy's house were several police cars and a crowd of people.

"They must have been organising a search party," Jeremy moaned to Anna.

Anna laughed. "Human's always over react." Jeremy gave Anna a meaningful look. "Okay, maybe I did over react a bit last night," Anna admitted.

"So, what's our story? What are we going to say?"

Luckily Anna's quick vampire mind had already come up with a suggestion. She had already began to think about that as they left the cabin.

"I think, maybe we should say that I was with you when you found out about Vicky's death and you said that you needed to get out of town for a while, so we just camped out in the car over night. That way, it doesn't suggest that I was in town last night and I," she sighed, "murdered someone,"

She looked at Jeremy with worried eyes, uncertain that at the mention of the events last night, Jeremy would realise what kind of a creature she really was, but he didn't. To her amazement, he agreed.

"That's probably the best we could come up with. What are you going to say to your mother?"

"Well, with that plan, she won't realise I'm stupid enough to go hunting in town after we know that a lot of people have been supplied with vervain, but" Anna said regrettably, " she will probably go mad because I was with you. But I don't think we need to tell anyone about the details."

Jeremy laughed. "No, I think we will keep _that_ to ourselves."

Then they had to break up the conversation because Jeremy's Aunt was striding across the front lawn with a very threatening look on her face.

He pulled up on the drive and quickly got out the car before his Aunt could open the door herself and pull him out.

"Jeremy, how could you?" His Aunt said as he closed the car door.

"I'm sorry, okay. I'm here now, can we just forget about it?"

"Jeremy, you're grounded. Go to your room."

Jeremy sighed. Did he really expect anything else?

He waved a goodbye to Anna who was standing timidly by the car, not sure what to do in this situation.

The next moment, Anna was gone. She decided on the spot to get out before they could start questioning her and she couldn't stand the awkwardness of the situation.

She knew her mother would be mad after she had told her specifically to not see Jeremy Gilbert, but she couldn't help who she fell in love with.

Last night was the most magical night of her existence and all of the days' drama was like a bathos to last night's events. She could feel the elatedness wearing off as she approached her house.

The house, from a distance, seemed dark and eerie. There was something unusual about it, something strange, different from when she left it yesterday. She couldn't see any moving figures in it, from the crowd of vampires who were using it as a refuge from the sun. There seemed to be a disturbance surrounding it, the garden seemed dishevelled, as if there had been a fight outside.

She picked up speed, running faster towards the house. Her surrounding became a green blur. She arrived at the house in seconds but found the door was locked, just like they had left it yesterday. She took the key from her pocket and opened it. Inside, she saw complete and utter devastation, but she wasn't devastated, she was relieved.

The site of bodies everywhere, each one punctured with a wooden steak or with a metal needle, was shocking and a mess. There was blood splattered on the walls and floors, the furniture and paintings, whatever it was, it had been a blood bath.

Anna called out to her mother, although she said earlier that she wished that her mother wasn't there, she would never wish death upon her.

There was no answer.

Anna called out again, knowing that her mother would have heard her the first time if she was in the area.

She walked silently through the house, in a trance-like state, careful not to make a noise, stepping lightly on the floor boards, she felt like she would wake the dead if she did. Anna's breathing rate increased as she took in all the bodies slumped in unnatural positions until she entered the kitchen. On the table, there was a white envelope.

She strode over quickly to read it. She found her fingers were shaking as she tried to slit the envelope.

Inside, there was a small folded piece of paper. It was addressed from her mother.

_Anna, _

_I've left town for a while. There is no use us reclaiming our town back for the moment. We can't do it with just the two of us. I trust you know who did this, so I would think again about getting in too far with the Gilberts, you know who they are associated with._

_Pearl_

Anna noticed that she had stopped breathing throughout the time that she was reading the letter, and now took a deep breath. Her mother honestly thought that she would be sorry that all the others had been killed. She wasn't. They were evil, and so time consuming. They were like what she had been once and she shivered with the memory. She was more thankful than ever that she had met Jeremy.

The thought of Jeremy made her eager to be with him, but before she could visit him, she had to deal with the mess that had been left here. With the house keeper dead, and people who knew who was living here, she couldn't risk people getting suspicious and coming to the house and finding the bodies. If she didn't do anything, it would be her or her mother who got the blame.

Anna went out of the kitchen to the basement where she knew the house keeper kept flammable liquid. There she took the bottles and went round each room of the house pouring liquid onto everything. Then she went to the store cupboard and took out any alcohol and poured that on the bodies. With the preparation done, she went through each room with a match, and balls of flames ignited. In seconds each room was like a giant inferno and she exited the house. As fast as she could, she ran back to Jeremy's house.

Everything will be destroyed, she thought as she ran.

"I just hope I can make it out as an accident," Anna said out loud to herself.

She kept to the trees so people didn't see the inhuman speed with which she travelled, until she could see the Gilbert's house in the distance. Then she slowed, so she could walk on the road. She heard that Jeremy was grounded, but what his Aunt didn't know, was that she could quite easily jump in through his window.

Anna was relieved to see that there were no police cars by the house now, so she knew that in the short time that she had been away, everything had calmed down.

She had to sneak round the edge of the house, and at the sight of Jeremy's window, the memories and thoughts of the house which had her mind occupied left her mind like mist clearing on a foggy day. She smiled as she saw the light on in his bedroom, and bent down to pick up a stone. She threw it and it bounced off his window.

Anna waited impatiently for Jeremy to open his window. Within ten seconds, he was opening it with a confused expression on his face, but the expression suddenly changed once he saw Anna looking up at him.

"Mind out," she shouted up, and Jeremy suddenly disappeared.

Anna braced her legs, and with the accurate amount of force, jumped straight up to Jeremy's window. He was there waiting for her, and then she was in his arms.

Home, she thought.


	6. truth

Jeremy and Anna talked for hours. They sat on his bed across from one another. They kept their voices low though, Elena was in her bedroom and his Aunt was downstairs.

Jeremy learned so much more about Anna and the life that she would have lead when she was a child. He learned about Mystic Falls in Anna's day, which Jeremy found incredibly intriguing. Although there were some things that Anna left out because she wasn't ready to talk to him about yet, like what it was like when you were turned. It was an ever present subject, and one that she didn't like to talk about because since she had met Jeremy, she had almost regretted what she had become.

There were so many good things about being a vampire, the strength, the heightened senses, the speed, but now, it seemed to be the case that there were more bad things than good things. Like always wanting blood. Anna could hear Jeremy's pulse in his veins but she had already taken some his blood the previous night. She couldn't take anymore. Never growing old was another. Human's were desperate to live forever and Anna couldn't understand why. She found it hard to adapt to new times, and sometimes, being a vampire was boring.

Then she thought about what her life would be like if Jeremy was a vampire, where they could go, what they could do. The list was infinite. She would no longer feel trapped in the town, no longer feel lonely.

It was those thoughts which changed Anna's mind about breaching the subject. And it surprised Jeremy when Anna suddenly changed the subject from women's social place in the seventeenth century to the subject of when Jeremy wanted to be turned.

"Anna, are you okay? You seem to be somewhere else."

Anna shook her head, clearing her thoughts.

"Um, yeah, sorry. Listen, Jeremy. You still want to be turned right?"

"Yeah of cour...."

"Shh, too loud." Anna interrupted him. Then suddenly she disappeared.

All of a sudden Jeremy could hear footsteps outside his bedroom door. He quickly picked a book up from the side and turned it to a random page, pretending he was reading it.

Someone knocked.

"Come in," said Jeremy.

There was a swish of brown hair as Elena entered his room with an accusing expression on her face.

"I thought I heard you talking to someone,"

"Well I guess you heard wrong," Jeremy said coldly. "What's with the listening in anyway?"

"Nothing," Elena said innocently.

"Look, no one has even entered the house this evening, and it's not like I'm hiding anyone in here. Why are you so suspicious?"

"I'm not, it's just... oh it doesn't matter," and she left the room.

As soon as she left, Jeremy threw his book aside and whispered Anna's name. She appeared instantly, as if out of nowhere.

"Whoa," said Jeremy, "where the hell did _you_ go?"

"Outside," Anna said as if it was obvious to anyone.

"Oh,"

Jeremy leaned across and grabbed Anna's hand pulling her back towards him, and she sat down on his bed beside him.

"I think we need to be quieter from now on," Anna said, a hint of a smile on her face.

Jeremy smiled in response. "Yes, I think so too."

For some reason, neither of them felt as though they could approach the subject of Jeremy's transformation again. It was like a taboo topic, neither of them wanted to seem desperate that it should happen.

Instead, there was something else, something that hadn't occurred to Anna since Jeremy found out about the existence of vampires, it was something that she thought Jeremy ought to know. She thought he would be understanding, now that he knew not all vampires were bad, and there was no other reason as to why he shouldn't know.

"Jeremy,"

Jeremy waited for her to go on.

"Do you like Stephen?"

Jeremy's eyebrows furrowed at the randomness of the question.

"Yeah, I guess. Why?"

"Look, I don't what you to get mad at your sister for her not telling you about this, after all, you would never had believed it before. But let's just say for now that I'm not the only vampire in this town."

Anna paused, waiting to see if Jeremy would figure it out.

"What? Wait, there are _more_?"

There was silence as Jeremy's brain registered this fact, whilst also linking his sister with the fact that there are more vampires in the town.

Then it clicked, and his eyes bulged with this newly found out information. Anna grimaced beside him.

"Stephen's a vampire,"

Anna nodded.

"So that means his brother is too, right?"

"Yep,"

"So how many _are _there actually?"

Anna thought of the house that was currently burning- she hadn't heard any sirens come to think of it-and all the vampires that were now burning inside. She wasn't going to tell Jeremy about them, even though it wasn't her who did the initial crime. She didn't want him to think that all vampires were capable of killing. It was a favour to the Salvatore's that she wasn't going to tell anyone, and that she cleared up the mess, a favour they didn't deserve. But it was better for everyone that she had done it.

"Er, not that many. As far as I know, currently there are just three of in town. Me, Stephen and Damon."

Jeremy seemed comforted by that, then he realised.

"Hang on. Currently? "

"Vampires pass through, they travel a lot. Not many stay in one place at one time. Once the crime rate increases, it causes too much trouble and they have to move on."

"So how are you managing that? I mean, apart from killing that man last night,"

Anna looked down, ashamed. "Donated blood. It doesn't taste as good as fresh blood."

Jeremy then started pulling his sleeve back to the two small puncture marks which were on his wrist.

He held it out offering.

Anna shook her head. " No, Jeremy. I won't take anymore of your blood. You'll end up anaemic or something," Jeremy drew back his wrist. "Thanks anyway."

Jeremy was just about to ask Anna on whether she knew how long his sister had known what Stephen really was when his aunt called from downstairs.

"Jeremy, dinner!"

"Ah, "

"I'd better go," said Anna. "Call me later, okay?"

"Sure,"

Jeremy then bent over and kissed her, closing his eyes. He intended it to be just a good bye kiss but Anna deepened it, putting her hands is his hair. They were falling, collapsing onto his bed, when his aunt called again.

"Jeremy?"

Jeremy broke away and smiled.

"I'll call you okay," he said as they both stood up.

He felt it necessary to walk her over to his window. Anna crouched on the ledge for a second then jumped.

Jeremy's heart stopped beating, just for an instance, as he watched her fall to the floor, even though he knew she couldn't get hurt.

Once she landed, Anna turned back and waved to Jeremy before heading back towards the blazing house.

I just need to check, she thought.


	7. decision

**Hello. Thank you for your reviews, i really appreciate them. And thanks to everyone who has stuck with me so far.**

**I know i'm not sticking accuratly to the TV series, sorry about that, but i just include stuff which would fit with what i'm writing here.**

**Anyway, i'll let you read on. **

Dinner that evening was an awkward affair. Jeremy kept glancing over to Elena.

You're dating a vampire, you're dating a vampire, the thought was going round and round in his head. He would have to speak to her, but not whilst Jenna was in the room.

He glanced at her again, this time Elena caught him and raised her eyebrows.

"What?" she mouthed.

Jeremy shook his head.

"Can I be excused?" Jeremy said suddenly.

He didn't wait for his aunt to reply. He got up from the table and put his plate on the side.

"Jeremy, wait," his aunt said as he went to climb the stairs. "What has got into you lately, Jeremy? You seem so quiet and secretive. "

"Maybe I do have a secret, " he said and then carried on up to his room.

There was a loud bang as Jeremy shut his door and went to load up his computer.

Jeremy sat on his computer for what seemed like an age, waiting for his sister to come upstairs so he could talk to her alone. About an hour later, he heard her familiar footsteps and went over to his door so he could catch her as she went past.

"Elena,"

"What?"

"Can I speak to you a minute?"

Elena bit her lip and then followed Jeremy into his room.

"This better be good," she said, "I have a date tonight, I need to get ready,"

"With Stephen?"

Elena looked at Jeremy confused. "Who else?"

Jeremy didn't know how to approach the topic. He decided to just come out with it.

"You know you're dating a vampire, right?"

It looked like Elena had stopped breathing.

"How- how do you know about vampires?"

"I figured it out,"

Elena narrowed her eyes and walked towards Jeremy, sitting on his bed.

"How?"

"With what happened with Vicky, and," Jeremy seemed reluctant to say her name, "Anna. Anna is a vampire."

Elena seemed to nod in agreement though she remained in a trance-like state.

"I don't think you should see Anna," Elena suddenly blurted out.

"What?"

"Stephen knows them. The vampires living in her house tortured him."

"What?"

"Jeremy, I don't know if Anna was involved or not, I don't think she was in at the time, but that's who she's associated with Jeremy. I can't truly say that you can't be with her because that would make me a hypocrite, but I would advise you t-.."

"How long have you known about them, Elena?"

Elena sighed.

"I don't know. A long time. It's not something that you can go telling people about." Suddenly Elena panicked. "You must not tell anyone Jeremy, understand? If the sheriff found out about Stephen, they would also figure out that Damon is a vampire and maybe Anna too."

Jeremy nodded with understanding.

"Okay,"

"How long have you been dating Anna anyway?" Elena said curiously as she went to leave the room.

"Oh, not long. I've known her a while though."

"Well, just go careful." Jeremy noticed that her eyes immediately focused in on his neck. "She hasn't fed off you then,"

"No," Jeremy realised that it had been very convenient that Anna had fed off his wrist the other night. He could hide the wounds quite easily.

"Just go careful, and don't go near that house,"

"Don't worry, I won't." Then Elena left to go and get ready.

Jeremy went over to his bed and rubbed his eyes. They were sore from the lack of sleep the other night, but it had been worth it.

Jeremy thought of the previous night against what Elena had just told him about Anna and the vampires at her house. So she had lied to him about there only being three vampires in town. He couldn't understand why she had lied to him. And they had tortured Stephen. He had to ring Anna.

He took out his phone and dialled, Anna picked up on the first ring.

"You lied Anna,"

"When?"

"Vampires, there are more." There was silence. "Anna?"

"Not anymore,"

"What do you mean?"

"I'll come over, okay?"

"I'll see you in a minute."

Anna put the phone down. She saw that there was black smoke billowing out the house and several fire engines surrounding it from where she stood watching. They weren't going to save it, it was too late. Anna felt comforted in that.

She was watching from a distance, from the blackness of the nearby forest. There were clouds of black smoke billowing from the smouldering remains of the building, and she shook her head over the useless attempts as the human's tried to put out the fire. They might as well give up, she thought. There's no way there're going to stop that.

Then she turned into the darkness, running through the forest. She would be at the Gilbert's house soon.

Jeremy already had his window open when she arrived. She took it as an open invitation to let herself in, so she jumped up into his room to be met by Jeremy who didn't seem happy at all.

Jeremy sat over on his desk chair as Anna walked over to him.

"Will you tell me the truth Anna? Just tell me what's been happening with you and these other vampires."

She walked slowly over to his bed and sat on the edge facing him.

"I can't tell you everything, you wouldn't understand everything."

"Try me."

Anna sighed, then she began.

"Vampires can't exactly die, unless there're exposed to sunlight. But I have this," she flashed her ring at Jeremy, "its protection. Which technically means, we can survive hundreds, even thousands of years without blood. Though we might as well be dead. You could call us an empty shell, just preserved."

Then she told him about the tomb and why the other vampires wanted to hurt Stephen and what the Salvatore's had to do with her family.

Jeremy didn't realise that Anna had stopped speaking finally.

"So, now you know everything,"

Jeremy blinked.

" I find it... hard.. to believe... like anything like that could happen. It shouldn't be real. You shouldn't exist."

"You understand though Jeremy?"

"I-I don't know."

Anna got up and started walking towards him.

"Do you still want me.. after everything?"

Jeremy looked into Anna's eyes. So beautiful, he thought.

"Please," Anna said. "I love you, Jeremy. I promise, I've changed."

Jeremy's face was torn, he closed his eyes. Everything was so complicated.

"Anna, " he said.

Then something over took him, a desire, a screaming aching desire.

He got up from his chair with alarming speed and walked over almost threateningly towards Anna. He met Anna halfway across his room and threw his arms around her sending them backwards and collapsing onto his bed.

His lips pressed down on hers, and for now he didn't want to think of anything but what he was going to do next.

Anna responded to Jeremy's eagerness curling herself to the shape of him. She ripped her own t-shirt off whilst Jeremy struggled to get his off too. Then it was off and Anna could see Jeremy's boyish figure that had just the right amount of muscle. He was perfect, and so good looking.

They made love noiselessly, knowing that Jenna was in the house. The only sounds were their silent panting and the slight squeaking of bed springs. Jeremy had one hand tangled in Anna's thick auburn hair and the other on her back, keeping her close.

But Anna kept her face hidden, behind Jeremy's shoulder. When both of them reached their peak, and the bedroom was filled with glorified moans, Anna pulled her face back and for the first time Jeremy saw why she had decided to keep her face hidden.

Dark patches were fading from black eyes that were fast becoming lighter. For that small moment, she looked like a vampire. And Jeremy didn't care about Anna's history, or what she did, what she does, Elena had said it herself that Anna wasn't involved in Stephen's torture, he had decided now.

"Change me, Anna. Change me now." His voice was rugged as he spoke, and he stroked Anna's face.

"Jeremy," Anna whispered.

But she felt the moment was perfect, right. How could she refuse him?

Anna closed her eyes, kissing his lips, down to his chin and jaw bone, continuing down his neck, planting small, delicate kisses. Then she let the sharp point of her fang graze his skin.

"Are you sure this is what you want?"

She felt Jeremy nod. He didn't speak. She took the nod as confirmation.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in his ear.

Then she bit down, hard.


	8. Jump

**Hello, sorry i haven't updated in such a long time. I have exams to prepare for and it's just finding the time. Thanks again for all your reviews :)**

Jeremy felt Anna bite into his neck. At first, it was sore, a kind of stinging sensation, like if you get salt in a cut, but as he relaxed, he found there was a sereneness about it, like one life force flowing into another.

Jeremy held Anna as she fed, but she didn't feed for long. She stopped drinking after just a couple of minutes.

"Don't you want more?" Jeremy said to Anna.

Anna smiled. "No, it's okay."

Anna sat up, and a troubled look flashed across her face.

"What is it?" Jeremy whispered.

"You want this, Jer?"

Jeremy's answer rang with finality. "Yes."

"Then what I'm going to ask you to do next is going to be repulsive- as a human, anyway."

"What?"

"In order to become what I am, you need to have vampire blood in you."

Jeremy's eyes narrowed and he cocked his head to one side, sitting up to face Anna.

"You're going to need to drink my blood," she said bluntly at his confusion. " I'm going to bite down on my wrist, and you are going to have to drink the blood."

Jeremy's eyes widened, but he wasn't worried about drinking the blood much, it was more like- would he hurt her?

There was no more discussion. Anna wanted to get this out the way as quickly as possible.

Carefully, she drew her wrist to her mouth, biting down and hearing the break in her flesh. Blood began to drip from the small puncture marks. She hesitantly offered it to Jeremy, wondering whether he would actually take it.

Keeping his eyes firmly in Anna's eyes, Jeremy swallowed reflexively, reaching out to take Anna's wrist. He took it, holding it up to his lips, but he didn't put his mouth over the two wounds.

"Are you okay? If you're having second thoughts you don't have to go through with this," Anna reassured him.

"No, it's... it's drinking your blood, I..."

"Jer, you need to get used to it. If you want to be a vampire then..."

"I know, I know. Okay."

He held Anna's wrist closer and closer, until he could feel her warm, wet blood on his lips. To see how it tasted, he licked his lips discretely. It wasn't unpleasant.

Anna could feel Jeremy's warm breath as he enclosed his mouth on her wrist. She had never done this before, she had never experienced anyone ever taking blood from her.

Although he could feel a pool of blood in his mouth, he wasn't sure on whether to swallow. If he swallowed this, this would be it. He wouldn't be able to live here, not until he had his need for blood securely under control, and did he want to have to feed off other people for the rest of eternity in order for himself to survive? Amongst all these questions there was only one that remained answered. Did he want to be with Anna for the rest of eternity? Yes, yes he did.

And it was that which made him swallow, more and more. He almost went into a trance like state, like it was instinct to keep drinking. It was Anna who had to stop him.

"Jeremy, Jeremy."

Slowly Anna's voice became clearer in Jeremy's preoccupied mind.

Jeremy blinked, and let go of Anna's wrist instantaneously.

"I'm sorry...I... what happened?"

"My blood too compelling for you then, Jeremy?" Anna said, smiling. She held her wrist in front of her, and both her and Jeremy looked down in amazement as the two punctures healed quickly visibly before them.

"Will I be able to do that?"

"Sure, I thought you already knew everything about being a vampire?"

"Hmm, I thought I did. Anything else cool that you haven't told me about?"

"Let me think....telepathy," Anna saw Jeremy's eyes widen at the prospect, "but that's only for the strongest, most powerful vampires." She added quickly. Obviously the whole heightened senses, seeing better in the dark and all that."

"Okay, so what do we do now? Just wait, or?"

Anna surprised Jeremy by getting off the bed. "Jer, this is as far as I want it to go tonight okay." She said, walking over to the window. "My blood will stay in you a couple of days, I just need time to think how I'm going to k-.."

"-Kill me? What?"

"For the transformation to be complete, you have to have ended your human life, the vampire blood effectively cures you, and you become a vampire."

Knowing that new information, Jeremy was overcome by a sudden proposition. He didn't want Anna to go through that. If she loved him as much as he loved her, there was no way on earth that he would potentially kill her, for whatever purpose.

"Look, Anna, "Jeremy said, going over to stand by her side, " you won't have to do that. I'll... find away. Make it look like an accident."

"If only."

"I'll do it now."

"Do what?"

"I'll jump,"

"Jeremy, no!"

"What else are you going to do? Shoot me? Snap my neck? That's not fair on you."

"Jeremy, I don't..."

"... two seconds. I'll make sure I land on my head. Instant death."

Anna shook her head. "It shouldn't be like that,"

"Nothing is going to be pleasant, Anna. And I'm not having that on your conscience."

Jeremy sighed and went over to the window. He opened it, feeling that night- cool breeze on his face. "Anyway, it's not death. It being reborn," he said, staring out into the unknown.

He felt Anna walk up behind him and felt her soft, familiar touch on his shoulder.

He turned around and saw her silently weeping , one hand covering her face.

He immediately put his arms around her, moulding her to the shape of him.

"It'll be okay," he said, whispering into her hair. "It'll be over soon."

"I can't watch," she spluttered through her weeping.

"You don't have to. When you hear me land, take me to that shack where we were the other day, and promise you'll be there when I wake up."

Anna uncovered her face then, revealing no traces of tears- vampires couldn't cry- and placed both hands on Jeremy's cheeks. "I promise," she said sincerely, and then leaned in to kiss him. When they parted, what seemed like hours later, Anna simply said, " I love you."

Then Jeremy unwound his arms, keeping one of Anna's hands, and placed one foot on his window ledge. He climbed onto it, a cocktail of feelings in his system. None of them nervousness. He was ready, he was sure.

"Is there anyone who can see me, or will be able to hear me?"

"No,"

Jeremy smiled at Anna reassuringly, and knelt over to kiss her hand. He let it go.

As soon as he let go of Anna's hand, she was gone. Jeremy swallowed, seeing the looming concrete.

He stood up, surprised to feel his legs had turned to jelly, and shuffled right to the edge of the window ledge. He took a deep breath, ready to start a new life. He wasn't worried about his day being night, as long as he was with Anna. And after all, if they could find another ring like she had, it would make being a vampire _almost _human.

Then Jeremy took that step which would lead him into his future. _His _future.

Goodbye, was his last human thought.


End file.
